In the annals of TikTok discourse you find the BookTok universe, filled with literarily-inclined users of the app dissecting their current reads and engaging with new releases. Most recently, the community has adapted the works of Colleen Hoover into emotive, short videos and with her new novel It Starts with Us having been acquired by Simon and Schuester, the content is sure to keep on coming.

While Instagram is the go-to for delicately curated frames of ‘currently reading’ posts, TikTok is the rawer, bleary-eyed alternative for Hoover’s fans. A quick search of the #CoHo hashtag on the app reveals videos set to moody music, an influx of the sobbing emoji and injury requests because they may hurt less than reading her books; “punch me in the face,” “break my legs,” the list goes on.

What is It Starts with Us about?

The synopsis of the yet-to-be-released novel tells, “Before It Ends with Us, it started with Atlas,” leading us to believe it may be told as a first-person account from the character introduced in the preceding novel. "Colleen Hoover tells fan favourite Atlas’ side of the story and shares what comes next in this eagerly awaited sequel to the number one Sunday Times bestseller It Ends with Us."

@erynsarchive IM SCARED FOR THEM 😭😳 #itstartswithus #coleenhoover #coho #itendswithus #booktok ♬ original sound - The Car Salesman

Hoover’s works span more than 20 novels with the prequel to her latest book having sold more than 250,000 copies in the United Kingdom alone. Alongside her work as an author, she founded with her family a non-for-profit bookshop and book subscription service called Bookwork Box, which has donated more than $1M USD to a variety of charities.

When will It Starts with Us be released?

It is hoped further details about It Starts with Us will continue to emerge as the year goes on. The book is expected to be released in October of this year, so there’s plenty of time to stock up on tissues and prepare ourselves – and our TikTok algorithm – for the experience.